Life is better in red

Get Ahead of the Game

There is no time better to get everything ready for the winter months than in the winter months. That may sound a bit confusing, but it is the only season that you both start and end the year in (unless you’re in Australia, and then it’s flipped around … lucky!). So while you’re stuck firmly in winter at the start of the year with not much to do, think about the future and how you can get ahead of the game.

Sort the Heating: There may not be anything wrong with your source of heat now, but it’s best to make sure that everything is in tip-top working condition before you lessen your uses of it. You may not be using your furnace as much as you have this season over the next coming months, so it’s always good to get a furnace repair or inspection organized to make sure that everything is working as it should be. If you use a wood burner to provide your home with warmth, start looking for your wood now; it gives it plenty of time to dry out over the coming months and you’ll get a good stash of it ready and available. You also will save yourself quite a bit of cash by not outsourcing for it.

Buy the Gifts: You may have just exhausted the contents of your purse or wallet with Christmas, but the sales are still happening and now is the time to grab a bargain ahead of the next time the festive season rears its head up. How many times have you been left flapping and panicking about a present, resulting in your impulse-buying an expensive gift that you’re not really sure why you picked up in the first place? Maybe because it kind of resembled something that the other person liked once upon a time? If you spot something now that you know the receiver will love and admire, buy it before it returns to its pre-sale price.

Tackle the Odd Jobs: Does the bathroom need a lick of paint? Gaps in the wall that need filling? Pictures that need hanging up? Do them all now. Stop thinking about a time to do them and increase your productivity levels by getting the jobs done. Actively look around the house for things that need fixing, cleaning, or even just checking-over to make sure that the batteries work (smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are a great example). It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is to get stuff sorted; if you set next winter as your goal, it gives you plenty of time to get it all done.

Don’t just read this and move on; think of all of the things that you could achieve before the coldness settles upon us again and get to work! You’ll look back on the past you and give yourself at a pat on the back – you deserve it, you handy and magnificent human, you.